Mind Heist
by Spooky S'mores Story Corner
Summary: When Bill Cipher invades a sick Dipper's mind and threatens to destroy him from inside out, Mabel must venture in and help her brother banish the demon from his mindscape. Post-'Sock Opera'; pre-'Not What He Seems'. Journal 3 spoilers in chapter 5. Written with help from ichipine on Tumblr. Rated K plus for scary imagery and peril. Originally posted to Tumblr between Jan./Feb. 2017
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note:_ Greetings, fellow fanfic authors! Here is the first chapter of a fanfic of mine that was first posts to Tumblr between January and February of 2017. You can read that version if you'd like to by looking through the 'Danni's drabbles' tag on my Tumblr, but I'd recommend reading this instead. The story itself has not been altered in the slightest, but several chapters were condensed in this version (for example, this first chapter combines the prologue and first chapter of the Tumblr version), grammatical errors and the like have been fixed, and I was actually able to properly format the story here! (I use my tablet to write and post fanfiction, and for some reason, I can't seem to get formatting to _work_ properly on mobile Tumblr...? smh).

The majority of this story is mine and mine alone, but the creation of this story wouldn't have been possible without my best friend Kaylee, known as ichipine over on Tumblr. This entire story is based off of a Skype RP we did over the summer, and Kaylee made several contributions to the revised plot of the fanfic. In fact, quite a bit of Mabel's dialogue was written by him! I wouldn't have a full story without his help, and I can't thank him enough - not only for helping out with this, but for being such a wonderful friend. c:

I hope you enjoy this first chapter! More are on the way! Please feel free to rate this and leave your thoughts in the review section. Thank you for reading!

\- Danni

* * *

Dipper gently turned the page of his newest mystery novel and adjusted the UFO blanket that was wrapped around his shoulders, bringing it closer to him. _Weird,_ he thought, _for it to be chilly at night in July…_

The watch lying on the table next to his makeshift twin bed read 1:58am. For once, all was still and serene in Gravity Falls. Even the owls, nocturnal by nature, seemed to have turned in early. Bedtime for the Mystery Twins was 10:30, and Dipper's twin sister, Mabel, had been fast asleep for hours, with her treasured pet pig snuggled up by her side.

But Dipper just couldn't bring himself to sleep.

Not after the night he'd had the previous night.

Or the two or three nights preceding it.

For nearly a week, Dipper had been experiencing intense nightmares every time he tried to sleep. Now, nightmares were something he had gotten used to, between dealing with terrifying creatures of the night nearly every day and his own personal anxieties. But these were no ordinary bad dreams, you see; not the kind one gets from minor fears of monsters in the closet. No…these were a twisted, _disorienting_ kind of frightening.

Just as twisted and disorienting, in fact, as one certain little top-hat-clad, one-eyed, nacho-shaped demon the twelve-year-old sleuth had come to know far too well…the demon he knew had to be responsible, _somehow_ , _some_ way.

Dipper just couldn't get the horrifying visions out of his mind. Even as he sat there, attempting to use fiction as a distraction, hazy memories of those terrible dreams - distorted and incomplete, but unsettling nonetheless - flashed through his head. The more he tried to calm himself down and convince himself that the dreams weren't real, the more wary he became. Something just wasn't right about the situation…at all. And he could feel it…

Suddenly, he was shaken out of his anxious thoughts when he sneezed. Twice. He'd been doing that off and on all night, but chalking it up to allergies, he just sniffled a little bit and went back to his book.

Mabel woke up to the sound of Dipper sneezing. "Dipper?" She flipped onto her side to look at the clock. "Is it breakfast time?" She rubbed her eyes and found out it was not.

Dipper picked his head up. "Oh, sorry, Mabel…" His voice stuck a little, so he quickly cleared his throat. "Did I wake you up? Was I, like…reading out loud again?"

"No, I just heard you sneeze a little…or I thought I did." Mabel yawned. "Why are you still up, bro? It's pretty late."

"I, um…just thought I'd get a little reading in before bed, that's all," Dipper quietly fibbed, not wanting to worry her.

Mabel became a little concerned. "Did you have a bad dream, Dipper?"

"…No." Dipper looked down. "Didn't…really give myself the _chance_ to have a nightmare yet…"

Mabel sat up a bit. "Wait. So…you haven't slept yet?" She grew even more concerned then. "But you haven't been sleeping much at all…you _gotta_ try to get at least a _little_ sleep. You're gonna get _SUPER_ tired if you don't."

"Aw, Mabel…I'm sure I'll fall asleep eventually," Dipper reassured her. "Reading...helps me keep my mind off of things. And, hey…at least this time I'm not out of it enough to start eating my own shirt, right?" He laughed a little just thinking about how silly that last sentence sounded.

Mabel giggled a little with him. "I guess, if you say so…" She plopped her head back down on her pillow. "Hey, what if I stay up with you? Maybe talking could get your mind off stuff, too."

Dipper smiled a little. "Aw, I appreciate it, sis, but…you staying up super late and losing sleep isn't good for you, either. You're just gonna end up with bags under _your_ eyes…" Suddenly, he sneezed again and pulled his blanket around him a little tighter.

Mabel frowned a bit. "You sure you're okay? You've been sneezing a lot…"

"Yeah…just…" Dipper sniffled a little bit. "I think my allergies are just being stupid. As _usual_ …" he said, rolling his eyes. He looked over and saw how worried his sister was. "Hey…if it makes you feel any better, I promise I'll at least try to sleep a little once I finish this chapter. Between reading this and talking with you…at least I'm not thinking about nightmare fuel anymore. Thanks, sis."

"Don't mention it, bro-bro." Mabel smiled wide, feeling a little relieved. "I should let you get back to reading then." She tucked herself in and got comfy. "Goodnight, Dippingsauce."

"Goodnight, Mabel," Dipper said. He went back to reading his book.

Silence came over the room for a moment.

"Also, Dipper?"

"Yeah?"

Mabel shifted a bit. "You sneeze like a kitten."

A pillow flew across the room and landed on Mabel's head. She and Dipper both burst out laughing.

Mabel soon fell back to sleep. As promised, Dipper soon closed his book, blew out his lantern, and tucked himself into bed as well. Though it did take him a while, he eventually drifted off into a light sleep…but unbeknownst to either twin…a strange shadow lurked outside. Not one belonging to a tree or an animal…but an eerily familiar _triangular_ one…

* * *

The next morning, Mabel was greeted by soft summer sunshine and the twittering of birds…and then a few kisses from Waddles.

Mabel woke up giggling and smiled to see her piggy friend. "Good morning, Waddles." She booped his nose with her nose. "Good morning, Dipper!"

She turned to look at his side of the room, but Dipper was still curled up in a little ball under his blankets, sound asleep.

"Aww." Mabel smiled and decided to let him get the rest he needed.

She took her clothes and tiptoed down to the second-floor bathroom. Soon, she was down in the kitchen having breakfast with Grunkle Stan. He was quick to ask where Dipper was, but Mabel explained to him that he needed extra sleep, and Stan agreed to let him come to work late.

Several hours later, however, Stan had already been giving tours for quite some time, and Dipper was still nowhere to be found.

It was then that Mabel decided to check up on him, just in case. She went up into the attic and peeked at his bed.

The door squeaked a little as it opened. Dipper, who was just starting to wake up, groaned softly and turned over. Mabel noticed that he seemed to shiver, just a little bit, as he curled himself into a tighter ball.

"M-Mabel?" he said quietly, picking his head up a little. "What…time is it?" When he spoke, his voice didn't sound quite right, and suddenly, a muffled sneeze came up from underneath the covers.

"It's still early; don't worry." Mabel quickly walked over to his side. "Are you feeling okay? You don't look so good…" She reached out to touch his forehead…and her eyes widened. "Dipper, you're burning up!"

Dipper sneezed again and slowly sat up, holding his head. His face was pale and flushed, and his cheeks and nose bright red. "Ugh…yeah, I-I don't feel so hot…" He soon started coughing, and he sounded terrible. He shakily began to climb out of bed, but Mabel was quick to stop him.

"Uh, _NO_ …hot is _EXACTLY_ how you feel! You gotta stay in bed," Mabel cried, the concern evident in her voice. "Maybe this is 'cause you haven't had much sleep recently…" She frowned at the thought. "I'll go tell Grunkle Stan so he can get you some medicine."

Dipper tried to object, but dizziness overcame him. "Okay…" He cleared his throat and wrapped his blanket back around himself as Mabel headed off to find their grunkle.

Downstairs, Stan was in the main exhibit room of the Mystery Shack, giving a tour to some Canadian tourists who were taking a bus tour through the Pacific Northwest. "Be prepared for the _SHOCK_ of your life…literally, shock. I'd keep the weird...cordless phones at a safe distance. _Behold-_ "

Suddenly, he felt a small hand tugging on his suit jacket and paused his speech. When he looked down, there was little Mabel. "Hold on a sec, folks. I'm gettin' a message from one of my little elves here." The tourists giggled at that.

Stan took Mabel aside and bent down to her level. "Sweetie, what're you doin'? What's up?"

"Grunkle Stan, Dipper just woke up, but he looks a little...under the weather," Mabel replied. "I thought you might have some medicine to help him feel better."

"Under the weather?" Stan didn't let it show, but he became a little concerned himself. "How serious're we talkin'?"

"He looks pretty bad...I think he might have a fever." Mabel looked a bit sad as she said it.

Stan patted her shoulder. "Okay. Calm down, honey; I'm comin'. Just give me a minute…" he said gently. He cracked open the gift-shop door, where Soos was in the process of changing lightbulbs. " _Soos!_ Dipper's sick, so you're gettin' your wish. I need ya to take care of these tourists. And don't be afraid to extort as much cash out of 'em as possible! The economy's better in Canada!"

"Aww, poor little dude." Soos straightened his hat, a determined look on his face. "I shall not fail you, Mr. Pines."

Stan came back into the exhibit room and laughed nervously. "Sorry about the interruption, folks; looks like I'm gonna have to cut this short and head off for parts unknown." The tourists were quick to "aww" in disappointment. "Ah, ah - have no fear, dear tourists. No more than usual anyway. I'm leavin' ya in the capable - _hopefully_ , capable - hands of my handyman/henchman, Soos. Have a spooky _daaaay_ …" he said dramatically as he walked away. Then, he turned to Mabel, completely serious. "Alright. Take me to 'im."

Without hesitation, Mabel took his hand and led him upstairs.

Dipper picked his head up at the sound of Mabel walking in with Stan and tried to act like he wasn't that sick. "Hi, Grunkle Stan…" he said hoarsely before sneezing again.

Stan walked over and put his own hand on Dipper's head. "…Oh, boy." He was really worried then, but refused to show that, internally, he was freaking out somewhat. " _Stay. There._ I'll be right back."

Mabel tried to give him a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Dipper. I'm sure you'll get better in no time…with help from Dr. Mabel and Nurse Waddles!" Waddles then walked over and sat nearby the twins with a small oink.

Dipper managed to smile a little. "Thanks, sis," he said quietly, sniffling. Mabel grinned back, feeling glad she could lighten up the mood.

The twins heard Stan grumbling down on the second floor. "I do _not_ believe this; of _ALL_ the times…" He came back upstairs shortly, this time with a thermometer. "Well…I got nothin'. I normally do all of my stockpilin' before Halloween, so the Shack's wiped out. I'm gonna have to make a medicine run, but before I go anywhere…" He stuck the thermometer in Dipper's mouth. "I gotta know what I'm dealin' with here, kiddo. Don't move."

Dipper mumbled what was probably an 'OK'.

Stan then turned to Mabel. "Hate t'ask you this, but I need Soos and Wendy t'manage the Shack by themselves while I'm gone - _Lord help us_." He rolled his eyes at the thought of it. "Y'think you can keep an eye on your brother while I'm not here?"

"You got it, Grunkle Stan," Mabel replied with a thumbs up.

"Thank you," Stan said…and then acted as if it had been painful for him to say it.

Suddenly, the thermometer beeped. Dipper mumbled something when it beeped, but nobody could tell exactly what it was that he said.

Stan took it back…and winced a bit when he saw what it said. 100.4. "Well…you're not _dyin'_ , but you're certainly not leavin' that bed, either."

"Fair enough," Dipper replied, coughing.

Stan patted Dipper on the shoulder. "Alright. Wendy should be comin' in for her shift any minute, so I gotta give orders." He was about to leave…but he peeked back in for a second. "You...kids gonna be alright here by yourselves, or...?"

"Don't worry about it. Me and Waddles got it covered." Mabel put an arm around Waddles and smiled.

Stan couldn't help but smile a bit, too. "Alrighty. Hang in there, kid," he said to Dipper. "See you kids later." And with that, he headed out to his car.

"Bye, Grunkle Stan-" Dipper called after him. He quickly realized that that was a mistake, though, when his throat began to burn. "Ow."

Mabel frowned and put a hand on Dipper's shoulder. "Take it easy, okay?"

Dipper nodded. "Mhm…" He suddenly grabbed the box of tissues he kept next to his bed and sneezed into one. "Okay... _this_ …is seriously the _worst_. Who the heck gets this sick in the middle of the summer?"

"It _does_ seem a _little_ weird…but all we can do now is help you get better." Mabel tucked him in and fixed his pillow. "Do you need anything?"

"Um…just a drink, if you don't mind," Dipper replied.

Mabel nodded. "Sure thing!"

She could hear Dipper cough a bit as he snuggled back down into his blankets. As she headed downstairs, she found herself deep in thought. Something felt…off to her. At first, she thought that she was just concerned that Dipper had become so ill so quickly, and in the middle of July, yet. While she was definitely worried about him, that wasn't it. She shrugged it off, for she wanted to remain focused on getting her brother well again…but for a moment, she wondered whether or not something about the whole situation just felt… _unnatural_.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note:_ Hello again! Welcome to the next chapter! :D

Here is where the story _really_ gets going. Enter... _the Dorito demon_.

Again, if you compare this version of the story to the Tumblr version, you'll notice that this chapter is a combination of Tumblr chapters 2 and 3. From here on out, though, no more chapters are going to be combined. I simply combined these first few in order to even out the lengths of each chapter. xP

In the canon series, we got to see Stan's mindscape and Mabel's, as well as bits of Ford's, but not Dipper's. So in this fanfic, starting with this chapter, we get to explore what I imagine Dipper's mindscape would be like! 100 points to your house if you can name either what the overall structure of Dipper's mindscape is referencing or another small reference hidden somewhere else in that scene. Extra if you can name both!

Thanks for checking out 'Mind Heist', and I hope you enjoy this chapter! As always, feel free to rate the story and leave a review telling me what you think of it. Stay tuned, because Chapter 3 is coming soon! c:

\- Danni

* * *

It had been nearly an hour since Stan left, and with him absent for the time being, all was quieter than usual in the Shack. Mabel was upstairs in the attic, sitting on her bed knitting and just keeping Dipper company.

Dipper had been trying to read, but his head had begun throbbing, so he put the book aside. He turned over toward Mabel's side of the room and coughed before inquiring, "What're you doin'?"

"Knitting another sweater." She smiled and held up what she had so far. "This one's gonna be really sparkly."

Dipper smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Nice job there…" He was then cut off when he sneezed. "…Mabel." He blew his nose and groaned in frustration. "Okay…think I'm gonna try to go back to sleep for a bit. Key word here is _try_. My head says yeah, but my entire respiratory system says no." That, and a small part of him was still afraid to go to sleep, but he refused to admit that, to himself or to Mabel. He pulled his blankets up over his shoulders. "Thanks for hanging out with me, though."

"No prob, Bob. I'll still be here if you need something."

Dipper tucked himself down under the blankets. He sort of drifted in and out of sleep at first, but soon, he found himself having a rather odd dream…

* * *

All was hazy for a second or two, but Dipper soon found himself…in a library. At first, he thought that he had woken up in the lobby of the little library downtown, for that was what the first floor seemed to resemble. As he looked around, however, he noticed just how expansive this place was. A plethora of floors and the staircases leading to them seemed to spiral infinitely upward. Books of all shapes and sizes filled the shelves, but the sections weren't labeled by genre…

He soon came to the realization that this was no normal library. It was a place he imagined long ago, as a small child…his 'mind library', the place where he stored everything. Every face he had ever known, every place he had ever been, and everything he had ever learned.

"…Huh. Weird. How long has it been since I've thought of this place? 4th grade, maybe 5th? And I don't think I've ever… _dreamt_ of it before…" He shrugged. "Oh, well. Maybe this is an opportunity for me to sort of…choose my own dream. Cool! Sure beats having another nightmare…"

After exploring the lobby briefly, he made his way up to the second floor and slowly browsed through the different sub-sections there. Each book he cracked open sprang to life, just as the collectible cards in wizard-school novels did. The pictures and text replayed his memories as if they were miniature movies. He found everything from algebra formulas to life lessons to…BABBA song lyrics…

Dipper quickly shut that book before music began to play and laughed nervously. "Yeah, no, don't…need that one right now." The last thing he wanted was to end up singing in his sleep. If Mabel overheard, he knew he'd never hear the end of it.

He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Now let's see…what has the potential to kickstart a really cool dream?"

Just as the rather large "mythology" section caught his fancy, suddenly…the lights in the library went out. In a split second, all was blanketed in foreboding darkness.

"…Whaaaat…?" Dipper was thoroughly confused…and a little weirded out. Upon remembering that he was dreaming, he thought up a lantern, and boom, there it was in his hand. He struck a match against his shirt and lit the candle inside.

Just as he did, he heard something off in the distance…a sound too faint to be heard clearly, but a sound that gave him a sense of deja vu all the same. Then, he could have _sworn_ that he saw a figure pop up out of the corner of his eye…and vanish as quickly as it came.

Fear reared its ugly head then.

Dipper tiptoed further and further into the library, letting the glow of the lantern be his guide. "Is…somebody in here?" he called out quietly.

Nobody answered.

He laughed lightly, trying not to let his nerves get the best of him. "Dipper… _seriously?_ Of course nobody's gonna answer. This is your _own mind_ , man. Nobody else is in here," he told himself.

But then, he remembered a…certain someone.

"…U-unless…"

All of a sudden, giant flames _burst_ out of the lantern.

 _"AAH!"_

As he dropped the lantern to the floor and it shattered, evil laughter - oddly familiar laughter - began to echo throughout each and every inch of the library. The flames rose higher and higher, taller than ten Dippers. And what then materialized out of the rising flames…sent shivers down Dipper's spine…

* * *

Back in the regular world…Mabel was unaware of what was going on at first. But suddenly, Dipper, asleep in his bed, began to moan and cry out in his sleep.

Mabel heard and turned her head. "Dipper?"

Something was wrong. _Very_ wrong.

She got up and walked over to her twin. When she put a hand on his head, she became quite worried. He was still burning up, but his fever felt even worse than before. "H-hey, Dipper…wake up," she said nervously as she shook him a little.

Dipper, shivering violently beneath his blankets and coughing in his sleep, didn't respond. "N-no…don't…" he managed to mumble out, sounding worse by the minute.

Suddenly, the fairy lights hanging above Mabel's bed eerily began to flicker. A chilling wind swept through the room, as if someone had left the door open in January.

Mabel shivered from the sudden cold. She quickly realized that all of this strangeness was connected. "Dipper…it's okay! I'm right here!" she reassured him quietly. She held his hand, hoping that would make him feel safer.

Just then…to Mabel's horror…a pitch-black, all-too-familiar shadow materialized behind Dipper's head.

A triangular, top-hat-clad being.

Oh, _NO_. It could only be…

She gasped. _"Bill!"_

Mabel held Dipper's hand closer to her. She then watched helplessly as the demon descended into Dipper's head and disappeared.

Dipper gasped and bolted up, his eyes glowing electric blue…exactly as Stan had done when Bill had taken over _his_ mind earlier that summer. Waddles, squealing with fear, ran and hid himself in Mabel's stuffed animal collection for protection.

Then, everything stopped as quickly as it began. The lights ceased their flickering, and the unexplained wind vanished without a trace. Dipper fell back, unconscious, and moaned a little.

" _Dipper!_ " Mabel caught him and held him tight. "Dipper…are you okay?!" Waddles, too, slowly came back and nudged him, trying to help whatever way he could.

Dipper moaned again, but didn't respond. He was stuck in a dream - no, more like a nightmare - with the nefarious Bill Cipher.

Mabel tucked Dipper back in and began to panic. "Okay…okay, what am I gonna do? What would _Dipper_ do? _Think_ , Mabel, _think_ …"

She'd never been alone during something this dangerous. What the heck was she going to do? Soos and Wendy were the only sort-of-grownups around, and neither of them knew much about the paranormal, did they? And besides, they were running the Shack; who'd look after things if they were gone? The only person that could possibly have had anything that would help was Stan, since he apparently _did_ know more about the town than he'd originally let the twins know, and he was nowhere to be found.

"But I _CAN'T_ wait for Grunkle Stan…aaaah, I _HAVE_ to do _SOMETHING_!"

Quickly, she dragged Dipper's journal out from under the bed and cracked it open, hoping to find something useful. Soon, she came across the blood-stained Bill Cipher section of the journal, and on the page, she found the Latin incantation Dipper had used to allow Mabel, Soos, and himself into Grunkle Stan's mind.

Mabel was admittedly a bit scared, but she knew it was the only way to help Dipper. She gathered a few things for when she ran into Bill. Before doing anything else, she grabbed a cold cloth and draped it over Dipper's forehead, hoping it would at least keep his fever under control for a while. Then, a few minutes later, with candles lit in a circle around her, she put a hand to the side of her brother's head and began to recite the spell.

 _"Videntis omnium._

 _Magister mentium._

 _Magnesium ad hominem._

 _Magnum opus._

 _Habeas corpus…_

 _Magister mentium, magister mentium, **MAGISTER MENTIUM!** "_

* * *

Mabel had forgotten how strange it felt to enter the mindscape. She watched all of the candles go out by themselves, but then everything seemed to fade away into a blue blur, and she felt a weird sort of weightlessness, as if she'd riding that weird swing ride at the carnival for too long.

Suddenly, she found herself waking up on the ground. She jumped to her feet, thinking for a brief moment that she'd ended up outside somehow. It only took her a second, though, to realize that she had indeed entered Dipper's mindscape.

"Holy _Moses_ …"

There she was, upon a hill, overlooking Dipper's expansive mindscape. Surrounding her on all sides were places from all the different types of memories Dipper had, all mishmashed into one little world, each representing places and different points in time. Many of these were memories Mabel recognized, too, for they were either from their childhood in Piedmont or the current summer. In fact, she was sure she could see their California home right from where she was standing.

Mabel wouldn't let herself get distracted for long, though. She shook her head and began trekking through the odd new world, calling out for her brother the whole way.

" _Dipper?!_ Dipper…where are you, broseph?"

All was eerily quiet around her for a while…so quiet that her voice faintly echoed back to her.

But it wasn't long before she heard the faint sound of cackling, and the second she heard it, her heart began to pound with fear.

She spun around and found that the sound was coming from the huge building at the heart of the mindscape - the mind library.

"So _that's_ where you're hiding him, you tortilla chip creep!" Mabel said angrily. She took a deep breath. Then, she readied her trusty grappling hook and dashed off into the library to find Dipper.

* * *

 _Meanwhile, within said library…_

"Wha- no- Bill? Seriously!?" Dipper was terrified, but tried his best not to let it show. "So you _are_ the one who's been giving me nightmares!"

" _Well well well,_ Pine Tree…long time, no ABC," Bill Cipher replied, cackling with sick glee. "I see you got my little presents! Just letting you know I had you in _mind_! Miss me?"

" _NO_ ," Dipper said. "You've already taken over my body and destroyed the laptop...what the heck do you want from me!?" He thought for a minute. "Wait a sec...if you've been putting nightmares in my head, then…are you the reason I'm sick, too?!"

"Whoa, _whoa_ , kid! Slow your _roll_!" Bill replied. "It's not _my_ fault you human fleshbags can't resist microbial invasion! But you see, it goes like this…you may not have all the secrets of Gravity Falls…but I _do_ have _SOME_ use for you. And unlike that little butterball Gideon, I actually _CAN_ see the future. For example, in about another minute, this is gonna be you!" Suddenly, Dipper could…hear himself screaming. Nice.

"Now, come on, don't kid yourself, Pine Tree…you skip out on enough sleep without _me_ being in the picture. You being brought down by some dumb Earth disease was inevitable. But of course, I… _MIGHT_ have helped things along a little," Bill continued slyly. "So!" He clapped his hands together. "Have I got a proposition to make to _YOU_! You and your journal help me along with a little something I've been up to… _orrrrr_ I find a way to _MAKE_ you."

Dipper was dumbfounded. Did he seriously just ask that? "Are you _KIDDING_ me!? _Last_ time I got tricked into a deal with you, I almost _died_! And so did Mabel!" he angrily yelled.

Right as he attempted to walk away, he soon found himself in the grasp of one skinny little demon hand - one much stronger than it looked - while the other one flew to the demon's hip in annoyance.

"Not even gonna listen to what I have to say, huh? Always thought you were a boy of _reason_ , Pine Tree," Bill replied. " _OH! SPEAKING_ of Shooting Star - she must've _LOVED_ the show I put on for her when I invited myself over to your mind!" he added, his voice dripping with evil delight. "Plus, there's a _liiiittle_ surprise I've got in store for you involving your precious sister later…"

"Oh, no…Mabel…" Dipper gasped. "No, no, no, she wouldn't have tried to-"

Once again, Dipper heard his own voice repeated back to him. "Enter the mindscape on her _own_ , would she!?"

Bill cackled again at the sight of Dipper's terrified face. "Aw, shoot…you ruined the surprise! And duh, of _COURSE_ she did! You weak humans and all your…'caring'…" he said as he rolled his eye. Suddenly, he cracked his skinny black knuckles. "Now then!"

Without warning, Dipper found himself floating in the air.

"Since this little chat wasn't enough to change your mind…let's see what your own _NIGHTMARES_ will do!"

Dipper struggled to get himself back down to the ground, but it was no use. "No! _NO!_ "

"Have _FUN!_ "

Bill's maniacal laughter circled all around Dipper. And with a snap of Bill's fingers, he was teleported to parts unknown.

* * *

All was pitch-black when Dipper finally dropped to the ground again. He quickly pulled himself to his feet, and he panicked a little at first, but then remembered that he could just think of a light source. When he realized that he was wearing his pine-tree hat and vest, like he normally would on an adventure, he reached into the vest pocket and pulled out a flashlight.

When he clicked it on, he still didn't see anything at first - just the dark, dark woods. The rustling of leaves and the whisper of the wind were the only sounds, other than the occasional murmur or growl of an unseen creature. When he turned around, he found what he thought were spiderwebs hanging from the trees above - the thickest spiderwebs he'd ever felt, for sure. They were everywhere.

"Um… _ew_."

He tried to walk around them, but kept getting tangled in them. He tried to just ignore them and advance through the forest to find an exit, but he found that he suddenly couldn't. When he looked down, he saw that bunches of the strange strings had gotten caught around his ankles.

As he tried to untangle himself…suddenly…he heard a monstrous growl behind him...and he felt as though his heart had stopped.

All of this was far too familiar to him. He knew that sound like the back of his hand...but it certainly wasn't a sound he wanted to be acquainted with.

"Please don't be what I think you are… _please_ don't be what I think you are…"

Trying not to completely freak out, he shakily turned around, very slowly. His eyes followed the trail of strings leading from his ankles up about ten feet ahead of him...and as his eyes met the monstrosity before him, a gravelly voice spoke.

 _"Come **play** with us, Dipper…"_

Yep. It was a multi-headed, spider-legged marionette monster.

And he screamed.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note:_ Here's Chapter 3! In this chapter, Mabel discovers something...odd occurring in Dipper's mindscape. Something that Bill is responsible for, no doubt. Something that can't be any good. What exactly is Bill up to, you ask? Nobody knows...yet. You'll have to keep reading to find out...

I'm not going to lie...there's one particular portion of this chapter that made me rather emotional while writing it. Not quite to the point that I _cried_ , but still. You'll see what I mean once you read this, because you may find yourself engaging in a game of 'Spot That Parallel'!

Chapter 4 is on its way soon! As always, thank you for reading, and feel free to tell me what you think. c:

\- Danni

* * *

As Mabel approached the left wing of the third floor - mainly containing memories regarding Dipper's elementary school experiences - she noticed that all had suddenly gone silent. It was almost as if all sound, save for her own tiny footsteps, had been sucked out of the room. Her heart began to beat faster, and she quickened her pace briefly.

Then, something caused her to stop in her tracks. She thought she heard something - something minute and distant, something she couldn't quite make out - but she wasn't sure.

"Dipper…?" she called out meekly. "Where are you..?"

She continued tiptoeing up through various floors of the library, being sure to keep on the lookout for Dipper. Still no sign of him.

And then came the noise once again. Soft and indistinguishable as the sound was…call it twin instinct if you will, but Mabel knew it must have been significant.

Anger bubbled up inside her. "Bill! Wherever you are…what did you do with Dipper?!" she yelled out, her voice ringing through the unsettlingly quiet halls.

She certainly didn't want to talk to Bill if she didn't have to. He deeply and truly frightened her, especially after the 'Bipper' incident…and after all, she _had_ just beaten him within an inch of his life just a few short weeks before then, so there was another reason she wasn't exactly comfortable facing him.

But she had no choice, and she didn't care.

Not with Dipper's life on the line.

Not when Bill had made clear to her weeks earlier exactly what he wanted to do to Dipper.

She was soon surrounded by the sound of Bill's maniacal laughter. It echoed all around her, bounced off of every wall and up and down each and every staircase, so that it felt as if twenty Bills were there with her in one room, closing in on her.

No actual answer to her inquiry came, though. He was taunting her.

Mabel became a bit scared then…and though she had certainly punched the lights (and sometimes rainbow barf) out of dozens of anomalies on her own before, Bill included, she admittedly felt a bit more vulnerable than usual without her twin at her side.

She swallowed her fear, however, and spoke up again.

"Bill… _where's Dipper?_ " she asked for a second time.

Bill suddenly popped up in front of her, startling her. "Y'know, for someone who says she loves fun, you're not much for games!" he said as he spun his cane around his finger. Before she had a chance to do or say anything, he wrapped an arm tightly around her shoulders as if to trap her and began monologuing. "Let's think of this as...hide-and-seek, shall we? But don't worry! Something tells me you're about to figure out your brother's hiding spot right…about… _NOW_!"

Suddenly, through Bill's cackling, off to the right of her, but far beyond the walls of the library…she heard a sound that nearly made her heart stop.

Her hunch about the distant noise had been right.

It was Dipper screaming for help.

" _Help!_ Someone… _MABEL!_ "

Mabel gasped. " _DIPPER!_ " As Bill popped back out of view and freed her, she ran outside as fast as her legs could carry her, and she started bolting after the sound of Dipper's cries for help, letting them be her guide. "Dipper! Dipper, I'm coming!"

She wasn't particularly worried about watching her step in the process - that is, until she tripped over something and fell flat on her face.

" _OW!_ What the fridge-"

Mabel paused to look at the object that caused her fall - a long, crooked, jet-black tree root. It seemed to be slinking along the ground as a snake would, and she noticed that, though the end of it was right under her nose, the rest of it was trailing along the ground before her. As she pulled herself to her feet, her eyes trailed upward…and what she saw about 20 feet ahead of her was the deep, foreboding, black-as-pitch forest it had come from. She stared worriedly at the deep dark woods before her, then glanced back down at the stray root at her feet and cocked her head at the sight.

She noticed that it almost seemed to be…trying to reach out and touch the mind library several hundred feet away. And it was something that certainly didn't seem to have a place in the library.

She didn't have much time to think about that, though.

It then started to move.

"AAH!" Quickly, Mabel thought of an ax not unlike Wendy's and attempted to chop off the branches that were trying to snake their way around her ankles. " _DIE_ , you weird little tree fingers! Eat ax blade!"

Every time she lopped off a branch, two more, longer and more contorted, sprouted up in its place. Then, three more roots began to creep into view - much shorter ones, but they were growing longer with each passing minute.

Mabel happened to notice out of the corner of her eye that they seemed to be taking shape at times. In fact, she could have sworn that one took the form of…the clown from Hannah Fitz's second-grade birthday party?

That…sure took Mabel by surprise. 'What on Earth would it be doing in Dipper's dreamscape, though?' she thought. 'He stopped having nightmares about that guy like…a _bajillion_ years ago, and-'

The Mystery Twin gears in Mabel's head began to turn. "Nightmares… _nightmares!_ Wait a sec…!" she wondered aloud as she continued to hack away at the monstrosity beneath her. "If the big library's…mostly just got Dipper's _nice_ dreams in it - _ha_ , nice try, sucker! - then…this must be…" Her eyes grew wider. "His real bad ones…all the stuff he's _SCARED_ of! Aaaah, and Bill's got him _STUCK_ in there!"

Quickly, she used the ax blade to cut the remaining brambles away from her limbs, vaulted over another before it could ensnare her, and conjured up a bunch of sentient scrapbooking scissors. They began to snip away at the roots as fast as they could so they wouldn't reach the library, but even that was only doing so much good.

"Good enough for now!" she cried as she ran toward the forest. "Dipper, here I come!"

Mabel couldn't help but wonder what exactly those rogue roots planned to do if they did manage to reach the library. If Dipper was stuck _in_ the forest, then what the heck did they want to _leave_ the forest for?

The most important thing was grabbing Dipper, though, and getting him the heck _out_ of there, so that thought was placed on the back burner as quickly as it popped into her head.

Her surroundings grew darker and darker with each step she took. Soon, she could barely even see her own _hand_ in front of her face, and she had no choice but to slow down for a minute. Luckily, she remembered that she'd kept a flashlight nearby her as she'd ventured into Dipper's head, just in case, so all she had to do was think of the metallic pink torch, and it clicked on as it materialized in her hand.

"Don't worry, broseph. I'll get you out of here…somehow."

She took a deep, slightly shaky breath, and she ran headfirst into the abyss.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dipper, trying desperately to get untangled from the last few puppet strings around him, was panicking. The soul-piercing, glowing eyes of the creature stared him down as it slowly and deliberately opened its hideous mouth, ready to swallow him whole. He had to shut his _own_ eyes; he couldn't bear to look at it anymore.

"N-no, _no_ nononono…y-you don't wanna eat me!" he cried out nervously as he struggled. "I-I mean, I'm… _terrible_ at anything athletic; I can't possibly have much muscle or-"

Suddenly, he went silent. Far, far off in the distance…he heard something. But surprisingly, it wasn't something scary that time. It was a familiar sound, a comforting sound…and it was getting closer.

"M…Mabel?"

When he opened his eyes back up, the creature had…disappeared. Perhaps it had been scared off by the sound of an unexpected visitor, but he knew that it couldn't be far. That, or if it was a speedy little monster, it was long gone, and it had selected Mabel as its new target. Neither thought was a particularly comforting one.

"Okay…okay, now's your chance…" he whispered to himself. "Find Mabel; just go find Mabel…"

He struggled once more and finally managed to snap the strings binding his ankle. Picking his flashlight up in one swift motion, he began to seek out his sister.

" _Mabel!_ Mabel, where are you?!" he called out through the darkness. "Can you hear me?!"

The flashlight didn't cut through much of the darkness at a time, but he could at least make sure that was able to see what his feet were treading on. As he ran, he heard the whispers of every anxious, self-conscious little voice that had ever spoken to him in times of stress, along with the occasional creature growl or sinister chuckle, and he was certain that eyeballs were staring him down wherever he went.

Mabel's voice beckoned him again, only this time, the sound was much closer. He could hear the simultaneous fear and relief in her cries. " _Dipper!_ Dipper…I hear you; I'm right here!"

Dipper, heart nearly pounding out of his chest at this point, pushed himself to run faster. "Mabel! I'm coming!"

He jumped, though, then skidded to a halt and spun around. He could have _sworn_ that he had felt the unfortunately-familiar sensation of something breathing _directly down his neck._

Not wanting to expose his back to the unidentified source, he began tiptoeing backwards as slowly as he could, shaking a little, shining his flashlight all the way.

He had no idea that Mabel, too, had felt a similar sensation, and she was literally right behind him.

So he tiptoed backward…and bumped right into her.

Two screams shattered the silence.

Mabel almost lost her balance from being startled so, but caught herself…and relief washed over her when she saw him. " _Dipper!_ Oh my gosh, it's _you_! Are you okay?!"

The second he saw her, relief flooded Dipper's veins as well. "Mabel!" There were only a few seconds of calm, though, before panic took over. A whispered voice repeated back the words dashing through his mind: _Wait, you shouldn't trust this right away. It_ is _her…right? Make sure; you gotta make_ sure.

The woods seemed to grow darker and the atmosphere seemed to grow more and more tense the more frightened he became. "It…i-it really is you...right?" His voice shook as he spoke. "You're not, like…like that time Bill morphed into Soos, o-or-"

Mabel was startled. " _Whoa_ , bro, _no_! No way! Why would you-" She stopped before finishing that sentence. "Oh…right. Spooky nightmare forest. Doi…" She looked at him with concern. "What-"

She then found herself blinded by a sudden ray of light.

" _Ow!_ What the _heck_ , Dip?"

Dipper, who had been standing there pointing his flashlight in her eyes, lowered it, and his face had a look that was both apologetic and thankful at the same time. "They're…they're normal. No weird tint or anything, and…and definitely not yellow…" The relief came back. "Haha…it _is_ you!" He then pulled her into a tight hug, and though she felt him tremble as he held her, she soon felt his tensed-up shoulders relax.

If this had been one of his nightmares, she surely would have turned into bugs, or transformed into the Shapeshifter and tried to eat him…or the ground beneath them would have disappeared, and she would have slipped from his grasp and fallen out of sight…

But she was still there, and she most definitely wasn't there to harm him. It was really _her_. He was _safe_ …even if just for a little while.

He was further reassured when he instantly felt her return the hug, and she began to comfort him, like a little mother, just as she did anytime he had a nightmare. "Hey...why're you shaking so bad? I-it's okay, Dipper…don't…don't be scared; I'm not gonna let anything hurt you. You know that…" Her voice was soft and comforting, though it sounded as if she were about to cry.

Once they let each other go, she made him look her straight in the eye. "Seriously, Dipper…are you okay? For reals? Nothing _did_ hurt you, did it?"

"Y-yeah; don't worry. I'm okay…or at least I _think_ I'm okay. Don't know how I'm doing outside of here, though…" Dipper took a second to catch his breath now that his anxiety had begun to subside. "What…what are you…? Are _you_ okay? It's _super_ dangerous to come in the mindscape by yourself; there's nobody to look after you in here…"

"I know; I figured…but…I knew something was wrong! I couldn't just wait for help; it's _BILL_ …" Mabel cried. "I made it safely; it's totally fine! _You're_ the one in trouble!" A troubled look crossed her face. "Bill is here somewhere, though. I saw him for just a sec. So I don't know what he wants, or what he's doing with the kooky black tree things that are all over the place outside-"

"Wait a sec, the _wha_ …?" Dipper looked confused for a second. "Y-y'know what? Never mind, we'll get to that when we get to it." He sighed and began to pace about. "I'm not entirely sure what's happening, either…? But…I do know this. Apparently, he's not the one that _made_ me sick, but he _has_ been giving me nightmares, because he _knew_ I'd end up getting sick from not sleeping, and then I'd be weak enough for him to take me over. He wants me to help him with… _SOME_ kind of diabolical plan, but he didn't give me any details…probably because he wants to try and trick me into thinking it's _NOT_ diabolical…" He found himself running out of breath again after rambling like that, and he leaned his head against a tree.

"Whoa! Dial it back a bit, bro…" Mabel patted his shoulder. "This…all of this is cuckoo bonkers. I swear, when I see Bill again, I'm gonna…use him to eat guacamole or somethin'!" After a brief pause, her voice shifted from angry back to reassuring. "Ah...come on. We should definitely get to a better part of the mindscape. This place is giving _me_ the creeps, too…" She gently took his hand and began to lead him out of the forest.

Dipper nodded a little, trying not to show how scared he was. "Okay…w-we gotta watch our steps, though. Something…something's been following me." There was another moment or two of silence before he spoke up again. "You…you knew how dangerous this was…and you did it anyway. I can't thank you enough for that." He looked down at his feet. "Plus, I'm… _really_ sorry…about earlier. With the…flashlight and all. I-I knew it was you deep down, but with…all this going on, I-"

"Of course, bro! I know you'd do the same for me." Mabel looked back and smiled at him, hoping to bring him some comfort. "And hey…no being mean to yourself! That was totally understandable; I'd _FREAK_ if I ever saw… _BIPPER_ again…" She shuddered at the mere thought of it.

The twins began to make their way back the way Mabel came, following the distinctive footprints her pink hightops had made. They quietly tiptoed through the darkness, doing their best to ignore the creatures of the night all around and keeping their eyes out for anything suspicious…or for an exit. They had yet to formulate a plan that would help them deal with Bill once they left.

It wasn't long before the young twins heard growling off in the distance behind them.

Mabel stopped dead in her tracks. "What the heck is that?"

"That must be what's been after me. If we're lucky, y-you won't have to see it for yourself." Dipper said nothing else about the matter, but internally, he began panicking slightly, and he started breathing faster. He hated feeling so vulnerable, but he just couldn't seem to help being anxious.

Mabel did notice how unusually frightened he was, but she made no mention of this. She simply gripped his hand a bit tighter, and the silent gesture seemed to put him a bit more at ease.

Suddenly, her face lit up. "Dipper…look!" she whisper-yelled.

They exchanged a look of excitement, and they ran toward the sight.

There was a light at the end of the trail. They'd almost made it.

And yet, as swiftly and quietly as they had walked…they weren't quite fast enough.

In dropped the mysterious, spider-like horror from out of _nowhere_ , it seemed, and it released an inhuman screech as the twins clung to each other and screamed in fear.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's note:_ It's time for an epic dreamscape battle, boys and girls! I had a total BLAST writing this chapter because my portions of the dreamscape battle gave me the chance to just let my imagination run _wild_! And my bestie Kaylee came up with some awesome battle tactics as well! :D

Chapter 5, the climax of the story, is on its way, but in the meantime, thank you so much for reading, and as always, feel free to leave feedback. c:

\- Danni

* * *

Bill suddenly appeared above the puppet arachnid, looking very pleased with himself. "Well! What do we have here? I see you've met my friend!" he said gleefully, petting the horrid creature as if it were a dog.

Mabel continued to cling onto Dipper, unsure of what to say or do, but silently attempting to come up with a plan. Dipper, terrified as he was, mustered up the courage to say something.

"A-alright, Bill…this is getting old. Just get out of my head! There's no way I'm giving you whatever it is you want! I'll…I'll…"

His voice trailed off as he tried his best to come up with a plan of his own. A million thoughts were running through his head, but nothing was coherent. Though he didn't _feel_ sick inside his dreamscape, the sickness coursing through him was corrupting and scrambling his thought process.

The woods continued to grow darker. The flashlights no longer seemed to be doing any good. Even Bill's eerie golden glow seemed to have dimmed, but Bill paid no mind. He was too busy enjoying himself.

"Not so easy facing me when your own body temperature is betraying you, huh, Pine Tree? Whaddya got? I _DARE_ you to try something," Bill taunted, sounding awfully smug.

"Aw, shut up and leave Dipper alone! _YOU_ …dare _YOURSELF_ to do something!" Mabel shot back. She wasn't particularly good at crafting insults, but she had at least tried. Her own mind had gone blank, and she, too, was starting to panic. She worriedly looked over at Dipper and whispered to him. "Any ideas? There has to be _something_ we can use against him…"

"Nnngh, I'm trying…I know there's something we've never tried, but…I don't remember…" He silently tried to get his thoughts in order, but of course, every anxious musing was echoed back to him by the environment he stood in, and Bill heard it all.

 _What the heck? Since when can't I think of a plan?! What are we gonna do, THINK, you've got to think of_ SOMETHING _before-_

Bill was thoroughly enjoying every second. "You know, Pine Tree, you've made _ME_ realize something. _NOW_ I remember why you were the first body I'd invaded in 30 years…because immortals _HAVE_ no weaknesses!" he said, laughing evilly to himself.

Even though she knew it wouldn't do any good, the normally pacifistic Mabel was ready to _punch Bill's lights out_.

Just as she raised her little fists and prepared to try, Dipper reached his limit.

"Aaaaah…get _OUT_ of my _THOUGHTS_!" he cried out.

The shout echoed through the nightmarish woods, bringing everything to a halt and clearing the encroaching black mist from the area. At the same time, a golden cage appeared around Bill, trapping him inside. The hideous puppet creature grew apprehensive and darted off to parts unknown.

" _WHAT_ the-? Are you _KIDDING_ me?! _THIS_ again?" Bill cried out angrily.

Dipper stood staring at the demon in shock. "Wha…what did I just do? All I did was think of-"

"Wait…Dipper, that's it!" A huge smile returned to Mabel's face. "Just think of anything and it'll happen! Just like we did in Grunkle Stan's head!"

Dipper gasped. " _YES!_ We'll have more time to formulate a plan that way! How…how did I forget that?" he said, pretty annoyed with himself. The fight to save Stan's mind from Bill's clutches had been one of the most memorable experiences of the whole summer. Mabel patted his shoulder.

 _"LOOK. AT. THAT…"_

Before either twin could do anything else, Bill shapeshifted into a stick and floated right between the bars.

"The mortal children still think they can beat me with kitten fists and laser eyes!" Bill said. "Look, if it's a fight you want, by all means - step up and fight! That way, I'll just get to _DESTROY YOU FASTER_!"

"You'll _never_ destroy _us_ , you weirdo!" As Mabel spoke, she thought up paper lanterns in a variety of colors, and they appeared in the air all around the three of them, illuminating the gloomy area with a soft, almost angelic glow. "Not when we've got _MINDSCAPE MAGIC_!"

"Awwwww, isn't that cute!" Bill retorted in the most condescending tone possible. "Thanks for making things easier on _ME_ , Shooting Star!" He snapped his fingers, and hundreds of knives and blades materialized. With a flick of his wrist, they went hurtling toward the twins.

The twins both dodged in unison, and custom shields decorated to each twin's liking appeared in their hands simultaneously, affectively deflecting the spears. They popped up from behind their shields and looked at each other in amazement, then gave each other finger guns and said, " _NICE!_ "

Suddenly, _forks_ , of all things - selected as a weapon by Bill because of their significance during the Bipper incident - came shooting at the young twins like bullets, and they had just a second to dodge them.

"Forks? _REALLY?_ " Dipper said in frustration. Bill cackled in response.

Dipper emerged from behind his shield. A proton pack, not unlike the ones he'd seen in ghost-hunting flicks he'd loved since he was a small fry, materialized in his hand, and the laser beams that he shot from it not only disintegrated the fork missiles, but also punched holes directly through Bill's body, leaving him looking more like a piece of Swiss cheese than the evil nacho he usually was.

The Mystery Twins stifled their laughter. "Huh…what do you know? Works on _demons_ just as well as it does on ghosts," Dipper cracked.

Bill shrieked with anger as the gaping holes in his form filled back in. Then, his ribbon-like arm morphed into a lasso, and he hurled it straight at Dipper.

" _AAH!_ " the twins yelped in unison. Within a split second, Mabel pushed Dipper behind her, rolled them both out of the reach of the arm rope, and jumped to her feet in order to shield him. "Oh, _NO_ , you don't!" she cried as she thought up a stuffed animal cannon and started rapid-firing teddy bear bombs at the demon.

Bill didn't even have a chance to resist before he was buried underneath an explosion of pastel-colored fluff. " _UGH!_ The POLYESTER _CUTENESS!_ How don't humans consider this _TORTURE_?!" was the muffled cry that rose up from underneath the pile.

Mabel's only response was a raspberry.

Meanwhile, as Bill struggled to escape from the plush bullets being fired at him, Dipper conjured up his most prized 'Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons' creation - a weapon that had the powers of a standard sword, a mace, and a lightsaber combined. While Bill's back was turned, he went in for what he was sure would be the perfect sneak attack.

At that moment, the plushies surrounding Bill turned to ash, and he rose from the pile to deflect Dipper's sword with his own arm just as it was about to strike him.

The two engaged in a brief sword fight. On and on it seemed to go, the clanking of metal ringing through the forest like a school bell. Dipper lasted a lot longer than Bill had expected him to, but soon, Dipper found himself struggling to keep up with Bill. It was strange; he'd never felt so drained inside of his _dreamscape_ before…

It was clear to Mabel that Dipper was beginning to lose, and so she quickly came up with a plan. She ditched the plushie cannon and conjured up a small, crystalline, star-shaped compact. It was fortunate that she did, for just as it appeared in her hand, she saw Bill knock Dipper's prized sword out of his hand.

Dipper ran to retrieve it, but quick as lightning, Bill snatched it up and held it to Dipper's _throat_ , to Mabel's horror.

 _"NO!"_

In an instant, Mabel clapped the center button twice as if the compact were a castanet, placed it around her neck, and let the device do its work. This caught Bill's attention before he could harm the boy in his grasp, and so he and Dipper both watched as Mabel was instantly consumed by clouds of galaxy-print magic. In just a second, her clothes transformed into the fluffy, lace-trimmed, multicolored uniform of a witch apprentice straight out of a Saturday morning magical-girl anime.

"Alright, Bill…no more games!" she cried out as she stood bravely before the deranged demon. She summoned her wand, a handle resembling a pink-and-white peppermint stick with a rainbow-beaded star topper that matched her compact. "In the name of the stars above… _prepare to be punished_!" she cried out in true magical-girl fashion. Then, she couldn't help but grin. " _YES!_ I've _ALWAYS WANTED_ to say that!"

Bill dropped Dipper and laughed in response. "What is this, Halloween?! What's that eyestrain-inducing piece of plastic going to do?"

"Ohhh, just… _THIS_." Mabel twirled around and thrust her arms into the air as she cried out, "Valentine Conversation Heart… _ATTACK_!"

Her magic wand produced a pink stream of glitter and light, filled with tiny pastel candy hearts, that smacked Bill right in the face.

"Whoa!" Dipper stood watching in awe, laughing a bit, as he pulled himself to his feet. There was Bill, being beaten up by what looked like a giant stream of cotton candy.

But it didn't last long.

Bill soon retaliated with a stream of hellish-red liquid fire.

Mabel stood her ground and pushed back against the dark magic for as long as she could, but to her dismay, her magical beam of candy hearts began to melt under the heat of Bill's lava blast. She struggled to keep the magic from fizzling out, but Bill's blast was starting to push her backward, and she was beginning to lose her footing.

" _MABEL!_ " Dipper cried out in fear.

" _DIPPER!_ How are we gonna lose him?!" Mabel responded, sounding rather frightened herself.

Dipper thought for a second. Then… _lightbulb_!

(No, a lightbulb actually appeared.)

He couldn't help but laugh. "I always thought that only happened in cartoons. Cool!" Then he yelled to Bill in order to get his attention. "Hey, _Bill_! Try _this_ on for size!" He pulled what appeared to be a simple red and white ball out of his pocket.

"HA! If your _SISTER'S_ toys aren't stopping me, what makes you think an oversized _fishing bobber_ is gonna help?" Bill scoffed as he effortlessly continued blasting at Mabel's wand without even looking.

"Well… I think the friend _in_ this oversized fishing bobber _juuust_ might…"

Suddenly, Dipper's normal hat and vest transformed into that of a decorated Monstermon master. He held the shiny little plastic capsule out in front of him…and…

"Torkomon, I choose _you_!"

He tossed the ball out in front of him as far as he could. As it hit the ground, out of the strange ball came a shiny turtle creature whose shell seemed to be made out of volcanic rock.

"Torkomon…use Smoke and Mirrors!"

Suddenly, Bill was blindsided - literally - by a giant cloud of thick white smoke.

Bill instantly ceased fire and screamed. " _AAAAAAH! COME ON!_ I _JUST_ got laser correction done on this eye!"

Mabel, too, ceased fire and cheered. " _Alright, Dipper!_ Let's get out of here while he's distracted!" She took Dipper's hand, and with Bill caught in smoke, the two of them made their escape. As they ran, Dipper scooped up the little tortoise creature and perched it atop his shoulder as if it were a parrot.

As the twins exited the forest, they gasped at the sight that laid before them. The overgrown nightmare roots were completely out of control. There were at least 50 of them now, and several had inched so far out that they were merely 20 or so feet from the mind library.

"Ohhhh, jeez…now I see what you were talking about…" Dipper said, shuddering at the sight. "This…can't be good…Bill must be trying to make my own nightmares consume my mind!"

"Then there's definitely no time to waste. Come on!" Mabel used her wand and summoned a 'rainbow sugar bomb' to clear a path before them as they ran.

"That… _is_ pretty awesome," Dipper admitted with a laugh. "I underestimated those weird anime things Candy got you into."

"Toldja they were just as good as comic book superheroes!" Mabel teased, just slightly. Then it was her turn to admit something. "Guess I underestimated Monstermon, too! You are one _crazy_ powerful little cutie!" she cooed as she cupped the turtle's little head in her hands. "You ready to come up with a plan, bro-bro?"

"Oh, yeah, I-" Dipper pulled her to a stop, just briefly. "Wait. That smoke's…probably not gonna last long enough for us to get back and…put a plan into motion. Maybe I should-"

"Nah, nah, it's okay! Leave it to Mabel," Mabel responded, taking notice of how oddly out-of-breath Dipper seemed to be. (She had to wonder how it was even possible to BE out of breath in a _dream_.) She quickly thought up another diversion. "Done!"

"What'd you do?" Dipper questioned. He hadn't seen anything appear.

"Ohhhh, let's just say Bill's gonna find himself in a pretty… _sticky_ situation!" Mabel joked, giggling afterward.

"Pffff, you're such a dork…" Dipper said, playfully punching her in the arm as they picked up their pace.

* * *

The twins hastily made it back to the now-well-illuminated mind library and headed to the top floor as quickly as they could. They soon arrived in front of the top-secret Journal 3 section of the library - a small room with an ornate door covered in encrypted messages and adorned with one giant combination lock.

"Okay…this one I keep under lock and key…for obvious reasons." He spun the letter slots to the correct combination - S-U-R-W-R-Q-S-D-F-N - and the twins worked together to push the door open before quickly relocking it behind them. Inside the tiny room was a set of file cabinets containing all of the journal pages Dipper had managed to memorize - archives.

"Alright…now let's see…there's a spell I happened to see in the journal once, but it was only visible under a blacklight. A crystal demon trap that'll incapacitate and banish an evil entity for an extended period of time. It's a quick fix, but at least it's something, and we won't have to worry about him for a while…hopefully…" He sighed. "Hoping I even _have_ the whole thing in here…I don't have the whole journal memorized verbatim. Yet." He cleared his throat nervously. "One of my, uh…summer goals."

Mabel couldn't help but giggle, just a little, at how nerdy that sounded, but she shut up when Dipper shot her a tired look that seemed to say, "Really?"

"Right. Well, if it's in here somewhere, we should probably start looking for it," Mabel said with a smile. "Let's get searching!"

The twins conjured up blacklights and began rummaging through the archives, trying to find it. At first, neither of them have much luck, but soon…

"Oh, oh, look! I think I found it!" Mabel skipped back over to Dipper, a frayed journal entry in her hand containing text written in a strange symbol cipher. "When you put the light on it, the top of the page says it's about a demon trap, but almost the whole rest looks kinda…Latin-ish…I think…?"

Dipper clicked his blacklight on over it and grinned. "Haha, _yes_! This is it! And from the looks of it, it's all here!" he whisper-yelled. He highfived her. "Nice!"

Wasting no time, they sneakily left and relocked the journal room, then hid themselves behind a bookcase in the "creature encounters" section of the next floor down so they could read over the spell and plan their attack.

Dipper was relieved to be able to sit down. "Okay…so…according to this…in order to create the trap, we first need…crystals. Three of them. Like the ones drawn here."

"Got it!" Mabel thought them up, and they manifested in her hands. "Daaaang…if we didn't need these, they would _so_ be perfect for earrings…" she said dreamily.

Dipper just shook his head and tried not to laugh. "Only you. Now…we need to arrange them in a…triangular trinity pattern. Huh, that's…actually a pretty fitting design for a Bill trap. So then if we could just find something to attach them-"

Before he could finish his sentence…two arms phased _through the wall_ behind them without them knowing, and one hand was clapped over each twin's eyes.

Mabel giggled. "Nice try, Dipper, but…" Her smile faded once she realized it was most definitely not Dipper.

"M-Mabel?" he stammered, not knowing she'd already figured out that something wasn't right. "That's not-"

" _Who's up for a game of **GUESS WHO**?_ " boomed a third voice, the last two words being spoken in a sinister bass tone.

The sound of despicably evil laughter soon filled the small chambers as the twins found themselves being pulled through the wall and into the main hall of the mind library.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note: _ Here we go. It's all come down to this. What exactly is Bill's game here? Why is it getting so hard for Dipper to fight Bill off? And can Mabel come up with a plan to get Bill right where they need him and eradicate his black magic from Dipper's head…before it's too late?

Half of this particular chapter was written at an extremely late hour, while the other half was written on a gloomy February afternoon during an unseasonably intense thunderstorm! So…tension was high…;w;

Let me tell you; writing Bill dialogue is a _real_ experience. I am always half _terrified_ just _thinking_ about what I'm writing and half completely and totally down for just... _punching his lights out._ lol

Something I _completely_ forgot to add when I first began posting this here - always be on the lookout for any codes you find throughout this fic, and keep them nearby! You never know when they'll come in handy...

Also, as I mentioned in the fic description, there are some references to the real-life Journal 3 novel in this chapter, so if you haven't read it, continue at your own risk! (And also, _please_ get on that whenever you can. It's _such_ an excellent read.)

Just one more chapter left before the story comes to a close, and since I'm posting this at a pretty late hour, I'll wait to post it until tomorrow afternoon! As always, thanks for stopping by, and feel free to let me know what you think! c:

\- Danni

* * *

Mabel and Dipper both yelled and tried to escape, but it was no use. As much as they struggled to break free, Bill's grasp was too tight to get out of. As they glanced up, they saw that he was covered in strings of bubblegum from the trap Mabel had left for him, and as he began to taunt them, it turned to ash and crumbled off.

"Oh, _THIS_ …now _THIS_ is _PRICELESS_!" Bill cackled as he gazed menacingly down at the children's frightened faces. "You _HONESTLY THOUGHT_ you could outsmart me? Here in _MY_ domain?"

"This… _ISN'T_ your domain!" Dipper cried out as he struggled. "It's _MY_ head…and I'm _NOT_ …gonna-"

" _What?_ Let me _destroy_ you from the inside out? C'mon, what's the fun in that?" Bill retorted menacingly. " _ALL_ you had to do" - he gripped Dipper tighter with each overly-emphasized word - "was _JOIN_ me, Pine Tree. A _GREAT_ new world is coming, and _YOU_ could've been one of the elite few!"

Dipper couldn't even respond. He felt as though he were being put through a vice, and all the while, Bill just continued monologuing with evil delight.

"You don't know what you're missing, half-pint…but why should I bother with you anymore, anyway? There's no use fighting! You're _DONE FOR_ whether you want to admit it or not!"

" _What_ …are you _TALKING_ about?!" Dipper squeaked out, still determined to break free, but hardly able to move at this point.

Bill put a hand to his face as he continued to laugh. " _Boy_ , I tell ya - if there's one thing that defines you Pineses, it's _STUBBORNNESS_. You just _DON'T_ know when to _GIVE UP_!" He brought Dipper directly in front of his empty, unsettling eye so he had no choice but to gaze directly into it. "Look, let me put it this way…the _last_ guy whose head I got into…we sure had a _BLOODY_ good time!"

An image of the journal's Bill Cipher entry _appeared. A six-fingered hand was seen lying across one of the pages…as_ red liquid slowly dripped onto the page.

So the red splatters on the page _had_ been blood after all. Could…could the author be _dead_? _Killed_ at the hands of _Bill_?! Dipper was horrified.

"And keep in mind - _THAT_ guy was in pretty good shape for a mortal fleshbag!" Bill continued. "Meanwhile, you don't really even _need_ anymore of _MY_ input - your _OWN_ _BODY_ was already beginning to burn up _BEFORE_ I came along, and me just _BEING_ here is making the flames burn higher. Every time you and your puny little consciousness tries to fight back, more and more of your energy just keeps draining out of your ears. So…just so you don't end up causing your _OWN_ demise before I get to have a little _FUN_ … _I_ think…it's _HIGH TIME_ I just let your own nightmares and human weaknesses consume you." Quick flashes of Dipper's various nightmares and the overgrowing brambles slowly creeping up on the mind library flashed across the eye-screen next. "Oh, but don't worry! I'll make sure your precious journal finds a safe space first…'cause it's coming home with _ME_!"

While Bill had been hassling Dipper, Mabel certainly hadn't just been sitting and letting it happen. She'd managed to slip out just one arm out from Bill's grip. Quickly, she imagined a baseball bat for her free hand.

" _Leave_ …my _BROTHER_ … _ALONE_!"

The bat went to hit Bill straight in the eye. It was _just_ about to make impact…but then…

" _WELL!_ I'm surprised at you, Shooting Star! You wouldn't hit a demon with" - a one-eyed pair of glasses appeared over Bill's giant eyeball - " _GLASSES_ , would you?" Rather than the eyewear shattering upon impact, though, as one would expect, the… _bat_ was what ended up shattering into pieces. Mabel was left in complete and utter disbelief. And Bill found it hilarious.

"M…M-Mabel…"

Mabel, afraid for Dipper's life, tried desperately to get out of Bill's hand. With her free arm, she managed to squeeze herself out a little, but not enough to change anything. The only thing she accomplished was tiring herself out.

Bill laughed maniacally. "Oh, _GIVE_ it _UP_ , Shooting Star! Did you hear _ANYTHING_ I just said?!" He put a hand to what would normally be a person's chin. "Then again…after the whole ' _sock opera_ ' fiasco, I think we've _all_ seen how _GREAT_ of a listener _you_ are…"

Mabel felt her stomach twist with guilt at the sound of that. And even in the state he was in, anger began to eat Dipper up inside when HE heard the demon bullying his sister.

"With your brother's physical state deteriorating, his mind isn't going to last much longer if _I_ can help it! But of course… _YOU_ and _I_ could always make a-"

Suddenly, Bill was slapped upside…whatever part of himself you could call his head by a giant frying pan. A cry of pain emerged from him, and he instantly dropped the twins to the ground. _Hard._

Mabel jumped to her feet in an instant, but as she brushed off her sweater and looked up, she saw Dipper groaning as he tried to recover from the impact. It seemed like it took everything he had just to pull himself to his feet.

Immediately, she ran over to him and helped him get up. "Dipper…are you okay?"

He nodded, slowly…and then Bill went lunging after them again.

This time, though, Mabel was too quick for him.

In the span of half a second, Mabel wrapped an arm around Dipper, thought up a series of cartoony hole portals in the floors below them, jumped down them with Dipper in tow, then finally conjured up her trusty grappling hook - just in time to hook the stained-glass light fixture and gently lower them to the fourth floor. Each hole closed as the twins fell through it, leaving Bill up on the second-highest floor…far too close to the top-secret room for comfort.

"Ha! _Yes! Stuck_ the landing! Secret agents, eat your heart out!" Mabel proclaimed, proudly, but fortunately not too loudly. "Hey…thanks for the frying pan. Perfect timing, too!" She grasped onto Dipper's hand and started to pull him along. "C'mon, Dippin' Dots, let's find a place to lay low so we can-"

"He's right."

Mabel, alarmed by the noticeable fatigue and defeat present in her brother's voice, stopped and spun around. "What?"

The world spun a little, and Dipper leaned one arm against the wall, holding his back as Stan would after a particularly hard shift. "I'm…gonna be honest, Mabel…" he whispered to her. "Bill's right. Being this sick, it's…screwing with my mind. It's getting harder to fight…" He took a deep breath before continuing to speak. "But I mean...we've _got_ to get him out of here, and-"

"Hey, _hey_ now! C'mere…" Mabel dragged a chair out of the nearby cheat-code 'computer lab' and sat him down in it. "Yeah, I noticed you were getting kinda worn out earlier…which I knew _had_ to be weird, 'cause…usually, in dreams, you've got energy for _days_. So…he _is_ right, then…" She gave him a look of pure concern. "I'm _really_ worried about how much longer you can hold up. Maybe you should just…leave it to me, bro, and sit out the rest of this crazy-fest."

"No. _No way._ I _can't_ let you face Bill alone," Dipper responded. "And besides, the spell's strength increases tenfold with each person that assists with it. This is _Bill_ we're talking about; the _Author_ was _terrified_ of his power. I don't think just one spellcaster is gonna be enough to get him out and undo all of his nightmare-bending outside."

"But…you're gonna get real hurt if you do much more, and-!" Mabel growled with frustration. "Aaaaah, this is _awful_ …this is awful times _double_ infinity!" She sank down on the floor beside him.

A book on the shelf beside her, one with a spine that was oddly colorful for something of Dipper's, happened to catch her eye. She glanced up and noticed that they were sitting in the middle of the 'holiday memories' section.

The little book, bound in yellow leather and decorated with shimmering confetti, was the memory of a family New Year's Eve party the twins' parents had thrown when they were five - the first one they'd ever been allowed to attend. Mabel smiled when the memory came flooding back to her own mind.

Suddenly, as she turned the page, the discordant, yet still pleasant, sound of party horns and noisemakers blasted from the book and echoed through the halls. Mabel cried out in surprise.

" _Shhh_ , Mabel!" Dipper shushed and quickly shut the book. "Don't freak out! That's just how my memories work! You open the book up, and it comes to life. You can even kinda…pull things right out, if you want. I used to imagine doing that a lot when I was little…I never thought it could really _work_ that way." He thought for a second. "Think of it as, like…if your scrapbook could talk."

"…Hold the phone. Open it up and it… _springs to life_ …!" Mabel gasped with delight. "I've got an idea happening here! Dipper - what do we still need for the spell?"

"Ah…" He pulled the spell out of his vest pocket - it was awfully fortunate that Bill hadn't seen it - and took a look. "A projectile. Something that will strike him with force. The reaction between the white magic of the crystals and Bill's dark energy will activate the trap and clear all black magic out of the area."

"Well, I think my trusty old _grappling hook_ can do the trick!" Mabel continued, beaming. "And remember you told me about those paper clones you made of yourself in order to try and ask Wendy to dance?"

"W-well…yeah," he replied, a little embarrassed about that situation now.

"If your memories come to _life_ …then that means memories of _people_ could probably just…come right out of the book, if we wanted 'em to! Right?" Mabel paced a bit as she brainstormed. "If Bill wants to get _you_ …then why can't we just get a few Dipper decoys to distract him? We can get him when he least expects it! And that way, _you_ only have to help with the most important part!"

Dipper gasped. "Mabel…Mabel, that's _perfect_! Besides…there have been a few days where I've really missed Tyrone. It'd be kinda cool to see him again." He grinned. "Let's go find the book of clones. It's back upstairs, the floor right underneath Bill…so we've gotta be sneaky." The twins fistbumped in agreement.

Suddenly, they heard a strange commotion a few floors down. When they peered over the balcony, they were _horrified_ by the sight that awaited them.

The strange, tentacle-like limbs of the nightmares had grown to impossible lengths and had finally begun to seep into the mind library itself. One had snaked its way through the crack in the entrance doorway, while another was intent on trying to bust its way through a window - and it had already created a good-sized crack. The lights in the lobby began to flicker and short out, as if to flee from the impending doom.

Dipper gulped. "And we definitely don't have any time to waste…"

Mabel quickly took hold of his hand. Off they went to hire help and get the real Dipper to a safe spot.

* * *

"Let's let my _friends_ out in the woods take care of the mortal _scum_ for now…" Bill said as cryptic images of the nightmare creatures he was summoning flashed across his eye. "I just love the smell of _FEAR_ in the morning!" He cracked his weird little knuckles. "Won't be long…so in the meantime…time to break down some barriers!"

As Bill tried figuring out how best to get past the security sealing up the journal room…

"Hey, _Bill_!"

Suddenly, he heard Dipper's voice call out and spun around.

Dipper folded his arms defiantly. "If you're so powerful, how come you can't pick a lock?"

Bill turned an angry, hellish red. "Sass won't get you _ANYWHERE_ with _me_ , Pine Tree! Didn't your parents ever teach you to _RESPECT YOUR ELDERS_?!"

And with one blast of fire, Dipper appeared to melt.

Then…

"Seriously?"

Bill spun around, and there was Dipper. Standing there by the door. Arms folded. As if he'd never been touched.

" _WHAT?!_ I just _DISINTEGRATED_ you!" And so he blasted Dipper again.

"You know…" This time, Dipper was standing on the stairs leading down to the next floor. "You should _really_ work on your aim."

"Aaaaa _AAAAAHH_ -"

Mabel observed from the twins' hiding spot. "Okay, Dipper, Bill's totally distracted!" she whispered, giving him a thumbs-up. "He's on Number Five and on his way down! Now's a good time to get him out of here." She made sure the trinity crystal she'd made was securely locked into place at the tip of the grappling hook, then noticed Dipper leaning against a bookshelf for support again. "Are you sure you're ready?"

Dipper pulled the spell page out of his vest pocket. "Ready as I'll ever be." He took a few deep breaths in order to prepare himself. "Are _you_ ready?"

"Mhm!" Mabel nodded. Just then, they both gasped at the sight of a giant tree root breaking through the window beside them, looking very much like the zombie arm that had nearly dragged Dipper away during the karaoke party misadventure earlier that month. "Come on, come on!"

They silently sprinted over to the next bookshelf, and they stood, out of sight, waiting for just the right moment.

Down the stairs Bill descended after the clones, firing at Dippers all the way. Yet no matter how many times he annihilated Dipper, he simply kept reappearing, completely unharmed.

" _HOW_ " - there went Seven - "is this _POSSIBLE_?!" Bye-bye, Eight.

The ninth different Dipper sighed. "You know, this is…actually getting pretty monotonous. Don't know why I was so scared before."

Bill growled, completely and utterly done. "Rrrrryyy _YOOUUU_ -"

Then, just as he was charging up to fire at Number Nine…he heard something.

Something that struck fear in him.

Mabel and Dipper had begun to recite the spell together, as loudly and as clearly as possible.

 _"Of the darkness…_

 _I do not fear…_

 _For the light…_

 _Shall be my savior…"_

As they repeated the spell twice more, the crystal before them began to glow with divine light. Bill stood there, rage and disbelief taking over his entire being as he began to turn to static.

"Wait… _NO!_ There's _NO WAY_ you just…?!"

"Ohhhh, I think we just did." Dipper shot him a look of victory.

The Mystery Twins tightened their grip on the grappling hook.

Mabel stuck her tongue out in determination. "Sweet dreams, Bill."

And with that, they launched the crystal toward Bill at lightning speed.

The crystal seemed to burn him the second it touched him. Suddenly, a white light encapsulated Bill in a mystical white orb.

"You're... _NOT_... _THROUGH_ with me! You're _FAR_ from through with me. I'm coming back before you know it! Something's coming…something your underdeveloped little minds couldn't _POSSIBLY_ comprehend…and when that day _DOES_ come, you'll wipe those grins right off of your faces and cower in _FEAR_ before me!" He briefly chanted some sort of gibberish: _"Lyom, rvs yqe GVOEZL ihkxz kvbg jps uybvhawav iozdihtbg? WA, K mpe'h usyxexo nfi TQGJANVN kchy gwe vsbv hh rrrofo iywl!"_

Finally, a blast of white light consumed everything in Dipper's mindscape, instantly disintegrating every bit of black magic that had infiltrated the library.

All the nightmares, no longer under the influence of a demon, were pushed back into their proper place.

And in an instant, Bill disappeared before their eyes.

Light returned to the library. All of the broken glass had vanished without a trace, as if the windows had never broken in the first place. The atmosphere lost any and all tension. The serenity of a quiet summer day came back.

All was right in Dipper's mind once more.

The twins stood there for a second, still as statues, just to make sure Dipper was truly safe.

Then, they heard familiar voices murmur something from behind them - the only two clones other than Nine who hadn't been blasted, Number Ten and Paper Jam.

"Pssst…hey…is it over?"

"Nyang-nyang?"

"He's gone! _WE DID IT!_ " Mabel cried, her voice filled to the brim with pure joy. She and Dipper exchanged their special twin handshake and hugged each other in celebration.

Once he disappeared, the Dipper clones - all of them, even the ones that seemingly been annihilated - re-materialized and went around giving the twins highfives before they climbed back into their memory book and went silent. Dipper and Tyrone even exchanged finger guns before Tyrone departed for the book. Mabel put it back in its proper place, and all was still again.

"Ohh, man…whoa…" Dipper slid down the wall, wiping his brow with relief. "Thank goodness _that's_ over and done with. Now let's…let's…"

Suddenly, Dipper sneezed. He was slowly beginning to experience the symptoms of his cold…inside his dreamscape.

"Ugh... _why_?" he said, sniffling. "Even in here?"

Then something dawned on him…and he gasped.

"Wait. Then I must be waking up! Okay…Mabel, you've gotta wake up, too…we gotta imagine an exit-"

"No way, Jose, you rest! I'm on it!" A door with an 'Exit' sign on it appeared before them. "I'll see you back at the Shack…okay?" Mabel helped Dipper up and hugged him. Dipper returned the 'awkward sibling hug'.

And with that…the twins walked through the exit together.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's note:_ Greetings, dear readers! Here we are...the final chapter. This one's mainly meant to just wrap everything up and give it a proper ending. Also, it's almost entirely just pure Pines family fluff, which is always an absolute _joy_ to write. Pines family bonding for _life_. uwu

As I mentioned in the previous chapter, keep any codes you've found handy. Also...just when you think the chapter is over, keep scrolling. You may find a surprise...

Before this story comes to its end, I'd just like to take the time to thank all of you for reading and leaving such nice feedback. I'd also like to yet again thank my best friend, Kaylee, for doing the original RP with me and contributing such great ideas to this. Love ya, bro-bro!

Farewell until next time, please feel free to leave your thoughts, and I hope you enjoy! c:

\- Danni

* * *

Dipper and Mabel were soon jolted out of sleep, and they both gasped as they bolted upright in unison. At long last, both of them were safe and sound in the attic of the good old Mystery Shack, and even _that_ seemed brighter all of a sudden. Things were finally _normal_ again.

Well…okay, _sort of_ normal.

Dipper immediately began coughing. "Ugh…well…I certainly didn't miss this…" he said hoarsely, sniffling.

Oh, _God_ …it felt as though his head had been hit with a _jackhammer_. He hadn't had the time to worry about the effects of a mindscape war with a demon on a summer cold for long while in said mindscape. Now he certainly had something to report to his trusty journal about it once he felt up to it: _If you're fortunate enough to…you know, not_ die _, you'll definitely feel a_ heck _of a lot worse than you did before going to sleep._

He pulled his blanket up over himself for warmth and then turned to Mabel, giving her a small smile. "Mabel…you did it. I-if it hadn't been for you…Bill…he would've completely wrecked my mind or…or something worse that I…don't really want to think about." He shivered a bit - half from fever and half from the thought of Bill's twisted games. "The way I was feeling in there…I never would have been able to get him on my own. Thanks, Mabel…"

Mabel smiled wide. "Don't worry about it! There was no way I was letting him pick on my brother _EVER_ again…the big bully. That guy just never learns," she said, hands on her hips. She got up off the floor and stretched out. She happened to notice that, even though it felt as though a whole day had passed them by, they'd only been gone for about an hour in the real world.

When she got a good look at her twin, concern set back in. She climbed up on the end of his bed and sat there. "You still seem… _really_ sick though. Like…more like miss-school-for-two-whole- _WEEKS_ sick now. You doing okay?"

"In all honesty? N-not really…" Dipper started coughing again, and rather harshly at that.

Mabel quickly got his drink for him and felt his forehead. You could have used it in place of a kerosene heater. Bill really _had_ done quite a number on him…

Luckily for Dipper, about 15 minutes later, the twins both heard Stan unlocking the front door downstairs. " _Honey_ …I'm _home_!" he called jokingly from the first floor. He climbed the stairs and knocked on the attic door before immediately entering (which kind of defeats the purpose of knocking), grocery bags in hand. He walked in just as Mabel was changing out the cloth on Dipper's forehead. "Hey, kiddo…how're you doin'?" he asked quietly, sounding an awful lot gentler than usual.

"Terrible…" Dipper croaked out from underneath the covers.

"Yeesh." Stan set the bags down on the bed and sat once Mabel scooted off. "Well…I dunno if this'll make ya feel any better, but you're not alone. Apparently, it's goin' around. In the _summer_. I was _in line_ with some punk who was practically coughin' his lungs up. Only in this weird hick town…" He sighed. "Okay…so I just about bought out the pharmacy."

"Bought it out, or stole everything?" Dipper whispered with a tiny smile and a sniffle. Even in his haze, he couldn't help but tease Stan just a little.

"Haha… _very_ funny, y'little dork. You'd be gettin' noogied right about now if y'weren't so darn sick," Stan teased back, grinning at the boy. "Here we go now. F'real." He started unpacking the bags, and he'd only been half exaggerating about buying out the pharmacy. "Tissues, cough drops, cold pills-" He nonchalantly put a hand to Dipper's forehead as he spoke, but he forgot to hide his concern and stopped cold, eyes wide, when he felt how high the kid's temperature had gotten in such a short amount of time. "Which y'need _right now_. I could make an omelet on your head. Be right back. Mabel, keep an eye on 'im, will ya?" He popped out of the room, taking Dipper's juice glass with him.

Mabel flopped down on her own bed. "Oh, gosh…you're in really bad shape, huh?" she asked. "I'm awful glad Grunkle Stan's back."

"Same…" Dipper groaned a little and laid back on his pillow.

"Don't you worry, bro. I'll be by your side keepin' you company until you get better."

Dipper was happy to have her company…but he realized something. "Thanks, Mabel. Just…be careful, okay? Judging by what Grunkle Stan just said, you…" He sneezed mid-sentence. "Could catch it. Really easily. Wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy…"

 _Then again, Bill would probably_ enjoy _it. The weirdo,_ he thought to himself with disgust.

"I'll try to be careful…don't worry." Mabel gave Dipper a grateful little smile. "And heck…quit worrying about _me_! _You're_ the one Dad could probably use for a _grill_ right now. Just relax."

Grunkle Stan soon stepped back in the room with a glass of water, cold pills, and an ice pack he'd wrapped in a washcloth. "Alllright, kiddo…get this in you before your head…spontaneously combusts or somethin'."

"Thanks, Grunkle Stan." Dipper sat up to take the medicine and went to pick his UFO blanket up when it fell to the floor. Stan put a stop to that, however, when both he and Mabel saw the child become dizzy the second he stepped out of bed.

" _Excuuuse_ me; where d'ya think _you're_ goin'?" Stan muttered to him, sternly, but gently.

"Aww, Dipper, you're supposed to rest…" Mabel stepped over and put a hand on his shoulder to gently lower him back into bed.

"I-I'm good…I'm good," Dipper insisted, though he immediately coughed again afterwards.

"C'mere, kiddo…thataboy…" Stan tucked the kid back in and gently placed the ice pack on his burning forehead. "Now…when I say don't move from that bed, I _mean_ don't _move_ from it. Not a big fan of the sound of ya there," Stan said in his gruff, but well-meaning, way. He backed out of the room with the rest of the grocery bags. "Mabel, keep an eye on 'im while I put stuff away…and if he falls asleep, come downstairs and just let 'im go, okay?"

Mabel nodded. "You got it, Grunkle Stan."

Stan nodded back and smiled at his niece. "Good. Rest up, kiddo," he said to Dipper softly.

Once Stan left, as Dipper laid there in his bed, bundled up in a little blanket cocoon, anxious thoughts popped back into his head…but much different ones than before. He hated admitting it to himself, but he was more than a bit wary about trying to go back to sleep. He knew full well that he and Mabel had just seen Bill disappear into the unknown for themselves. And yet…the thought of him possibly still lurking somewhere nearby just wouldn't leave his aching head. Nervous, he poked a hand out and gently began to pet Waddles, who had sensed Dipper's uneasiness and decided to curl up next to him as if to reassure him.

Mabel turned to Dipper, and without him even saying a word, she could immediately tell that he felt uneasy. "It's alright, bro-bro," she said, patting his head lightly to comfort him. "We got rid of Bill…we watched him poof away, remember? You should be safe now. Just worry about getting better…okay?"

Dipper hesitated before nodding slowly, though he still couldn't help but feel at least a little nervous. "Okay…" He sneezed again and cleared his throat. "I guess I'll try to sleep…my head is _killing_ me. Maybe the meds'll kick in faster that way." He slowly pulled himself into an even smaller ball - he slept more comfortably that way - but turned back around for a second to whisper one last message out. "Oh, Mabel…? Thanks again. For everything."

Mabel smiled. "You're welcome!" She made sure her sibling was tucked in just right. "I'll check back later once you're asleep to see how you're doing, okay?"

The boy smiled a tiny bit and nodded as he watched his sister leave the room. Waddles, who had decided to make himself comfortable where he was, kneaded on the bed a bit like a cat would before spinning around and falling asleep at Dipper's feet. Dipper soon surprised himself by successfully clearing his mind and following the little pig to Dreamland.

* * *

For the rest of that day and night, Mabel checked up on Dipper and kept him company whenever she could. She made it her sworn duty as 'chief nursemaid and right-hand man of the renowned Dr. Waddles' to monitor his temperature and keep him supplied with fluids, tissues, and throat lozenges. At one point, late in the evening, once enough of Dipper's lightheadedness had subsided and he was waiting for his next dose of medicine to kick in, the twins even played a game in which they would take turns making up a story by drawing pictures on Mabel's dry-erase board. The town's plethora of oddities - supernatural and human alike - provided them with _plenty_ of material to draw inspiration from, so they spun themselves quite a tale. It was around 10:00 when the twins turned in, and for the first night in almost a week, they _both_ found themselves sleeping peacefully that night.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Stan had come up sometime around midnight. He pulled up a rusty old lawn chair from the bowels of the attic storage, parked himself just outside the kids' bedroom door, and stayed there - occasionally nodding off, but never for long - until he'd heard them begin to stir early the next morning. He then made a break for it as soon as he knew that all was as well as it could possibly be.

Though he still had quite a bad cold, Dipper was at least much less feverish when he woke up the next morning. Mabel was _immensely_ relieved to see him feeling at least a little bit better - and Stan would never admit it out loud, but so was he.

Since Dipper was still confined to bed, Mabel's nurse duties continued well into that afternoon. Whenever she came to visit him, Dipper noticed that she wasn't her usual hyperactive self - in fact, she was being…oddly _quiet_ that morning - but he immediately determined the reason why, or so he thought. He'd found himself in an odd state of _mental_ exhaustion since he and Mabel had returned from their mindscape battle victorious, and he figured that his sister was feeling the same sort of fatigue.

At some point, Dipper drifted off to sleep in spite of himself. The next thing he knew, he was brought out of his impromptu nap by a strange sound - a sound that gave him a bad feeling, though he…honestly wasn't quite sure what the noise was at first. He'd only half-heard it.

Had…had he just heard a cat sneeze?

"Huh…wha…?" he mumbled out as he rolled over. "Mabel…did you say something?" He coughed and picked up his watch so he could check the time. It was nearly suppertime, to his dismay. "Aw, _seriously_? I slept all day?"

Mabel was seated on her bed, working on gluing bits and bobs to various pages of her beloved scrapbook, as she often did on quiet afternoons and rainy days. "Naww…i-it's okay, bro-bro," she reassured him quietly…though Dipper quickly noticed that she didn't sound quite like herself. "You need all the sleep…you can…" Her sentence was cut off when she sneezed again. She quickly hid her discomfort, not paying it any mind, but she could tell by the way her brother was looking at her that he'd seen her. "W-what? Why're you lookin' at me like that?" She laughed nervously.

Dipper sat up. Something was up, alright. She looked paler than he did, and just as flushed to boot. "Mabel…? Are you okay?"

"…Oh, no," she muttered to herself. It wasn't until then that Mabel fully realized what had happened. At least, she hadn't admitted it to herself until then. "Okay, Dipper…I think maybe I got sick, too.." Having admitted defeat, she groaned and plopped down on her bed.

"…Uh-oh."

 _So_ that's _what's going on. Should've known something wasn't right when_ she _started being_ quiet _,_ Dipper thought to himself.

He wrapped himself up in his blanket, walked over to Mabel's bed, sat beside her, and put a hand to her forehead. Sure enough…"Aw, no, you're burning up!"

Mabel frowned at the discovery. "Yeah…I feel pretty darn sick…" She began to cough, and she sounded quite awful. "H-how are you feeling?"

Dipper winced a little at the sound of her. "Pff, don't worry about me; I'm…" He sneezed. "Fine." He certainly wasn't fine yet, by any stretch of the imagination, but he was much more concerned about Mabel's well-being at that moment. He handed her the box of tissues that had been sitting beside him. "How long have you been feeling like this? How come you didn't tell me?"

Mabel grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. "N-not _too_ long…" She had actually felt herself coming down with something longer than she liked to admit. "I just…didn't want you to get worried while _you're_ getting better…you know?"

"Aw, sis…" Dipper sighed. "It means a heck of a lot that you've been taking care of me. I really appreciate it. But just…don't forget to take care of _yourself_ , too. You _definitely_ don't want to end up feeling as awful as I felt yesterday. Okay?" He gave her a caring smile.

Mabel smiled back a little and nodded in response. Sometimes, it was almost as if he took the role of a protective older brother rather than a twin.

"Don't worry. We'll get you fixed up. It's my turn to help _you_ out. One sec…" Dipper then got up and tried to call down the stairs for their grunkle. That very quickly turned out to be a mistake, for the fire in his throat began to burn twice as much, and it induced another coughing fit.

" _Shhh_ , careful!" Mabel whisper-yelled to him, sounding worried. " _You're_ still sick too, goofus!"

"Wha- what's that now?" Stan hollered back from downstairs, not having heard clearly. "Dipper? That you? What're you doin' yellin', kid? You're gonna bust your voicebox or somethin', and I'm not bein' held responsible for that…" he called up the stairs as he approached the attic. His head soon peeked through the doorway. "Y'okay?"

"I'm about the same as before; don't worry," Dipper replied, sniffling. " _Mabel_ , on the other hand…"

"Hi, Grunkle Stan." Her voice cracked a bit - something that usually only Dipper's voice did - and she cleared her throat.

Stan raised an eyebrow in concern. He could instantly see that she didn't feel well and began to worry when he saw that clearing her throat caused it to ache. "Mabel…c'mere, sweetie." He put a hand to her head - "Aw, jeez…" - and immediately went to see if he had a second thermometer handy, one he hadn't already used on his nephew. Dipper stayed beside her with a comforting hand on her shoulder as she waited.

It wasn't long before the thermometer beeped and decided to be the bearer of bad news. 100 degrees even. Stan sighed. "Well, that's not good."

"Aw, man…" Mabel frowned.

Stan took a deep breath, then came out with an idea. "…Alrighty. That's it. The two of yas, grab your blankets and pillows and…pigs and what have ya. You're comin' downstairs," he announced. "At least y'can…y'know, watch TV down there." The real reason he wanted them downstairs was so he could keep a closer eye on them both, but he dared not say it.

Dipper put a hand to his head, but smiled a little anyway. "Sounds like a plan to me." He quickly grabbed his blanket and pillow.

Mabel followed suit, wrapping both herself and Waddles up in her blanket. "I'm ready!" she proclaimed softly with a sniffle.

"All good? M'kay. Here we go…" Stan picked his niblings up and draped one of them over each of his shoulders. "All aboard the Stan Train!"

Very, very carefully, Stan carried them down the stairs. The twins used his shoulders as head rests and felt warm and safe in their grunkle's strong arms. He found himself a bit sore by the time he arrived in the living room, but didn't say so, and honestly, he didn't mind.

"Next stop…couch." He gently plopped them both - and Waddles - down.

The kids smiled. "Thanks, Grunkle Stan."

"Yeah, yeah. It's nothin'." Stan brushed it off, but he smiled a little himself. "Now don'tcha move a muscle. I'll be right back." Off he went to fetch supplies for them both.

Mabel tried to help Dipper bundle himself, but he took it upon himself to help her bundle herself up first instead. "You okay?" he whispered, trying not to strain his voice anymore.

Mabel coughed. "I've been better…but I'm okay." She snuggled Waddles close to her for comfort.

Dipper gave her a little side hug. "Yeah. Sorry that I…got you sick…" Then, the twins ended up sneezing in unison, which they couldn't help but snicker at.

"It's okay…I think I would've gotten sick anyways." Mabel returned the side hug. "I liked taking care of you - it was fun! So…I don't mind," she said softly with a shrug.

Dipper smiled warmly at his sister's kindness, glad to have her by his side.

Suddenly, the twins heard talking outside the door to the living room.

" _Out_."

"Aw, come on, man-"

"But Mr. Pines-"

"No 'buts' except yours away from this door. This area's been quarantined. Now _OUT_ , b'fore I sic the CDC on yas both!"

As the old door creaked open and Stan stepped through, the twins could see Soos and Wendy squeeze their faces through the opening as fast as they could, determined to get their message across.

"Aw, man…get better, dudes!" Soos called through the door, his voice muffled from squishing in between the door and the wall.

"Feel better, guys! We'll sneak stuff in to you later when Stan's not looking!" Wendy managed to yell to them just before - _click_ \- Stan shut the door on them.

Dipper and Mabel couldn't help but giggle at their antics. "Bye, guys," the twins called back quietly, hoping the two of them could hear.

Stan dropped tissues and other such supplies on the coffee table with a sigh. "Alright…you knuckleheads both need meds, and I'm makin' soup. And later, I…may or may not be able to…spare some ice cream." He grinned.

Mabel gasped and smiled. "Yes! Ice cream!" she cheered softly before sneezing.

"Bless you," Dipper said…and then promptly sneezed himself.

Stan ruffled the kids' hair affectionately. "Consider yourselves lucky. I don't go sharin' my stash with just anyone, y'know!" He chuckled a little as he disappeared into the kitchen. He peeked back through the kitchen door, for just a second, to make sure they'd gotten settled before getting to work.

* * *

Later on that evening, after the little family had sat down together for ice cream and a movie, Stan unraveled himself from the blanket pile on the couch and left the room for just a minute to grab some coffee. When he came back…

"Hey, kiddos, it's gettin' late…whaddya say we-" He stopped as soon as he saw the kids and smiled warmly. "Ha…wouldja look at this…"

The sight before him was too adorable for words. Dipper and Mabel were fast asleep, leaning on each other for support. Waddles had stretched himself across both of their laps, as if he was determined to guard them as they slept.

Stan chuckled - not only because the sight of the twins sleeping was so sweet, but also because he found his mind wandering to the happier days of his youth. Distant and bittersweet as they now were, he remembered them fondly just then, as if they had only occurred a few days prior. Those were treasured days, worth their weight in gold, where, even if sickness kinda killed a fun weekend, it wasn't as bad when there was a good friend to keep you company.

He silently debated whether or not to move the kids upstairs and soon decided against it entirely. "Eh…just let 'em sleep, Stan," he mumbled to himself. "They're comfortable where they are. No use disturbin' 'em both."

He was about to turn the TV off and depart for his bedroom, but he hesitated. He just couldn't bring himself to leave the kids alone. So, he just sat on the opposite end of the couch - gently, so as not to wake them.

Just as he went to check the kids' foreheads, Mabel suddenly coughed a bit in her sleep, rolled over, and hugged Stan's arm. Dipper murmured something in his sleep, and his head fell over onto Mabel's shoulder.

"Awwww…" Stan put his arm around Mabel. "Sweet dreams, pumpkin." He slowly reached his arm over Mabel's head and ruffled Dipper's hair. "G'night to you too, kiddo."

Mabel smiled in her sleep, as if the message had gotten to her regardless of her slumber. Dipper did as well and wrapped one arm around Waddles, who oinked happily in response and went back to piggy-snoring.

Stan kept his arm around the kids for the rest of the night. He had had no intention of falling asleep, but the cuddle pile had a rather soothing effect, and so he soon joined his niblings in slumberland in spite of himself.

In another couple days, to Stan's relief, Dipper and Mabel bounced back from their colds completely. Almost immediately, the tween sleuths were back to exploring the gigantic oddity that was Gravity Falls, where countless other summer adventures - and _mis_ adventures - awaited them…somewhere in the woods…

 _the end_

* * *

 **19-10-14-9-25 25-9-3-6 5-3-11-11-19-6 1-16-15-12-19 25-9-3 21-23-10, 11-19-23-4-22-23-17-5**

 **25-9-3-6 8-23-6-4-25 5-3-6-19-12-25 1-9-10'4 12-23-5-4**

 **21-16-23-10-17-19 1-15-12-12 22-19-17-15-10 1-15-4-16 4-16-19 15-11-8-19-10-20-15-10-17 6-19-4-3-6-10**

 **9-18 23-10 9-12-20 8-23-12 18-6-9-11 4-16-15-6-4-25 25-19-23-6-5 8-23-5-4**

 **5-9-11-19-20-23-25 5-9-9-10, 23 5-16-9-9-4-15-10-17 5-4-23-6 1-15-12-12 18-23-12-12,**

 **23-10-20 15'12-12 4-23-13-19 22-23-21-13 1-16-23-4 15 11-9-5-4 20-19-5-15-6-19**

 **15-18 25-9-3 20-15-20-10'4 1-23-10-4 4-9 17-9 3-8 15-10 18-12-23-11-19-5, 8-15-10-19-5,**

 **25-9-3 5-16-9-3-12-20-10'4 16-23-2-19 5-4-23-6-4-19-20 4-16-19 18-15-6-19**


End file.
